Mitochondrial DNA Polymorphism in Different Populations of Spangled Orloff Chickens

For the first time, the genetic diversity of the Spangled Orloff chickens was studied by analyzing the polymorphism of the hypervariable region in the D-loop of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Samples for the analysis were collected at the farms ofthe All-Russia Poultry Research and Technological Institute (VNITIP), the All-Russia Institute of Farm Animal Genetics and Breeding (VNIIGRZh), and the Moscow Zoo. The D-loop partial sequences (between nucleotide positions 57 and 523) were determined according to the reference sequence of Gallus gallus spadiceus mtDNA, NC_007235 in 39 individuals obtained from these populations (GenBank Accession Nos. KM391754-KM391792). In the analyzed mtDNA fragment, a total of 20 polymorphic sites localized between positions 167 and 368, as well as at position 446, were described in Spangled Orloff chickens. One polymorphic site at position 221 (haplogroup E, haplotype ORL-2) was unique. All of the identified nucleotide changes were transition-type substitutions. Overall, based on the analysis of poly- morphic sites in the hypervariable fragment of the D-loop of Spangled Orloff chicken mtDNA, we found seven haplotypes belonging to four haplogroups (A, B, C, and E). Haplogroup E (haplotypes ORL-1, ORL-2, and ORL-3) was present in the majority of the studied individual, with the frequencies of 0.77 in the total sample and 0.47 in the VNIIGRZh farm population. Haplogroups A (haplotypes ORL-4 and ORL-7), B (ORL-6), and C (ORL-5) were found only in samples from the VNIIGRZh farm. The studied mtDNA region revealed a lower level of polymorphism in the VNITIP and Moscow Zoo populations, which only had the ORL-1 and ORL-3 haplotypes belonging to Haplogroup E, respectively. Our data suggested that the studied Spangled Orloff chicken populations differed in the composition and frequencies of mtDNA haplogroups and haplotypes.